TPLF forces took control of Mekelle airport and fought federal troops at two locations in the Afar region, while Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to three Tigray airports in an apparent collapse of the Pretoria Agreement that ended the 2020-2022 war in the country.
Tigrayan rebels in northern Ethiopia seized control of a key airport and clashed with federal troops in the neighbouring region of Afar on Wednesday, as long-standing tensions spilt into open battle.
Fighting escalated “since last night in Abala and Erebti (in Afar) between TPLF and federal forces,” an NGO source in the region said, requesting anonymity.
“We are expecting it to expand. We just sent a truck with food to help the people displaced,” they added.
Abala lies in the mountain ranges that mark the border with Tigray. Erebti lies around 100 kilometres further into Afar.
Another humanitarian source confirmed clashes in the two locations, as did a foreign security source in Ethiopia.
A former TPLF senior official said the rebels were in control of Berhale, Erebti, Abala, Megale, Dalul and Konoba in Afar.
The federal forces are “fast-retreating”, he added.
Meanwhile, local and security sources said Tigrayan forces were in control of the airport in the regional capital Mekelle.
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